This Thursday (15th Oct) will see the first of what I hope will be many debates held by the new University of Portsmouth Politics and Debating society. The question debated will be 'Are we Labour's lost generation?' and I had been intending to attend and put across a Labour perspective on the issue. Unfortunately it looks like I'm not going to be able to make it, so instead I'll blog here some of what I was intending to say at the debate.

I do not think that we are a lost generation at all, let alone 'Labour's lost generation' - whatever that actually means. It's interesting and somewhat paradoxical that Labour's opponents on the right often bemoan that the state meddles far too much in people's lives and should stop telling them how to raise their kids etc., before proceeding to come up with phrases like 'Labour's lost generation' - you can't have it both ways guys.

In truth, our generation has more opportunities before us than any other in the history of this country. Just ask one of your elderly relatives. For example, there are more students attending university than ever before and it is now possible for anyone from any background to get into a university of their choice, provided they have the right grades and necessary willpower. Clearly there are some pitfalls in this argument - but not nearly enough for us to be labelled as a 'lost generation'. I offer myself as a case in point - I never wanted to do A-levels or go to university. Labour's introduction of the Education Maintenance Allowance persuaded me to stay on - part bribery for sure, but that £30 a week paid for my petrol to go to sixth form each day.

Labour's abolition of up-front fees for university meant that coming from a low-income family would not be a barrier to my going to university, and the introduction of maintenance grants has meant that I have had some money to live on - money that I don't even have to pay back. I'm the first person from my family ever to attend university, all the statistics show that it will improve my life chances and I haven't had to pay a penny up front in order to do it. Contrast this with the situation little more than a couple of decades ago when university was still for the privileged few, it is clearly wrong to say that we, as students, are Labour's 'lost generation'.

But there are so many other reasons why it just isn't true to say that we are Labour's lost generation. Labour lifted half a million children in this country out of poverty and is committed, despite the recession, to continuing this trend. Child benefit is being paid at record levels and year on year we have seen record results in our schools. The first legislation of its kind in the world - the Climate Change Act - will help to ensure that not just our generation, but generations to come are not lost to the threat of environmental disaster.

Nevertheless, there is a real danger that the current economic climate could create a 'lost generation' and it is true to say that young people have been among the hardest hit by the recession. That is why the government set aside £5 billion in the budget for targeted support with jobs and training and has promised that, starting from January, every young person under 25 who has been unemployed for a year will receive a guaranteed job, work experience or training place. In addition, from last month all 16 & 17 year-olds have been guaranteed an offer of a school or college place - or a training place or apprenticeship. Contrast this to the total lack of  support from the Conservative government in the last recession.

Ultimately however, we control our own destinies. While there are still many problems to overcome in terms of equality of opportunity, we are nobody's generation to lose but our own. The role of the state is to ensure, as much as is possible, that the most disadvantaged in society have access to the same opportunities as the wealthiest in our society. We are still some way from achieving this, but you can be sure that these aims will not be achieved under a Conservative government.